Dominican priest Mark Montebello has confirmed to The Sunday Times of Malta that he conveyed a message that a person was prepared to offer a six figure sum to a complainant in the clerical sex abuse case involving the former Kerygma Movement director Fr Charles Fenech, in return for her silence.

Fr Montebello communicated the offer to Edgar Bonnici Cachia, who is assisting the woman, during a telephone conversation.

Mr Bonnici Cachia confirmed that Fr Montebello called him on his mobile phone at 10.18pm on April 1.He claims that Fr Montebello said: “There is a person who is prepared to offer you [the victim] money, even a six-figure sum, as long as you withdraw everything.”

Mr Bonnici Cachia said he immediately responded that neither he nor the complainant were for sale.

When contacted, Fr Montebello confirmed the conversation took place but said he was passing on a message on behalf of a married person that he declined to name.

The woman, in her 40s, is claiming that Fr Charles Fenech sexually abused her during the course of a relationship spanning a number of years. She alleges that the abuse started while she was being treated at Mount Carmel Hospital. He denies the claims.

More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.